Chapter 38: A leader who is more like a beggar! (4)

Hyun Jong, Un Am and Hyun Sang remained in the sect leader's residence after Chung Myung left.

"What do you think?"

Un Am smiled at Hyun Jong's question.

"He seems to understand the path of Dao."

"You felt the same way too."

Hyun Jong smiled happily.

It was true that Chung Myung seemed great. Why not? Thanks to him, Mount Hua was saved from extinction. There was no enemy invasion or internal strife; instead, money caused the issue entirely. Thankfully, they were able to avoid the most disgraceful situation where Mount Hua, with its long history and tradition, lost their sect because of such a petty issue.

So, from Hyun Jong's point of view, Chung Myung was worthy of extra care.

But now, the evaluation was unrelated to his contributions.

"Even if he is a child, there is a lot of depth in his words. His language can be rough at times, but it is understandable when considering his age."

"Right."

Un Am's thoughts deepened the impression Hyun Jong had.

It didn't feel like talking to a child when speaking with Chung Myung. It wasn't just because of how he spoke. Rather, there was nothing child-like about him.

What could it be?

'Am I the only one who feels it?'

He couldn't put it into words. The scent of an experienced man came from the child.

'I can't explain it in any way other than the Dao.'

Un Am tilted his head slightly.

"Unlike a child, he has deep thoughts. He seems to always consider what he says before speaking. He is a smart child in many ways."

"Right."

"If nothing happens... it will be possible for him to lead the next generation of Mount Hua."

Hyun Jong nodded silently. He then looked at Hyun Sang.

"What do you think?"

Hyun Sang had only silently watched the entire thing until now.

"Don't you know that I don't have eyes for judging people, sect leader?"

"Really now, all I am asking is how you feel about him."

"Feel..."

Hyun Sang closed his eyes.

Time passed slowly. And as he thought for a long time, he said.

"That child doesn't seem like a child."

"..."

"I know that children who have lived a rough life usually have deep thoughts. But that simply means they are more mature for their age; it doesn't mean they behave as adults."

Hyun Sang, who glanced around, continued.

"But that child isn't precocious, he speaks and behaves like a grown man, to the point where I would like to dig in and see what's hidden inside his mind."

"Do you believe he's hiding something?"

"I don't mean it in a bad way. But..."

Hyun Sang didn't say more.

"I understand."

Hyun Jong nodded his head.

"I know what everyone is thinking, but don't worry too much. As you can see, isn't he a child?"

"Yes, Sect leader."

"We aren't the kind to use people, we are here to nurture people. If it is a good seed, we help by letting them grow their talents, and if they have a problem we need to lead them to fix that problem."

"You're right."

"Un Am."

"Yes, sect leader."

"How is the construction going?"

"It is difficult to replenish all the materials due to the steep hills. We are cutting down trees as much as possible, but we can't speed up much since it takes time to dry and trim the cut trees."

"I see."

Hyun Jong brushed his beard with a serious face and asked.

"Are you displeased with me, who only cares about money now?"

"Of course not, sect leader."

"Please understand. Mount Hua is being reborn now. When a person makes a new resolution or sets a new will, they must refine their attitude and change their thoughts accordingly. This is no different for the sect itself. The sect should be re-built to obviously convey Mount Hua's meaning and determination."

"Sect leader is right."

Hyun Jong nodded his head.

"Sajae.'

"Yes, sect leader."

Hyun Sang bowed his head slightly.

"Please finish interpreting the newly acquired martial arts books as soon as possible. However, I don't mean to rush you. The fate of Mount Hua will change depending on how well we can pass these techniques to our students."

"I will make sure that there is not an inch of laxity."

"I trust you."

Seeing Hyun Jong, who was immersed in thoughts, Hyun Sang's face hardened.

'Should I tell him?'

No.

Sect leader was currently envisioning the future of Mount Hua, which will continue for thousands of years. He shouldn't be bothered by a measly story now.

'But...'

Hyun Sang sighed.

When he discovered what happened, he felt so shocked by it. However, he couldn't get rid of his growing doubts lately as he kept digging deeper into the process of interpreting these books.

'For a book which was at least 100 years old, the paper was too clean and maintained.'

And there were traces of ink smeared here and there. If his suspicion was correct, then the book wasn't from the past but recently written.

Then who?

Who could recreate martial arts exclusively practiced in Mount Hua? It didn't make sense. If anyone could do such a thing, it would be better for them to come and directly speak to the sect leader. Then the entire Mount Hua would support the man like a king.

It means that someone was helping Mount Hua but didn't want to reveal their identity.

Hyun Sang, shook his head.

He shouldn't overthink.

He was worried about some conspiracy, so he reviewed the martial arts repeatedly, but no matter how much he looked, it was genuine. There was nothing wrong or misleading in there. The strange thing was that he couldn't find anything out of place.

'Let's review it one more time.'

If anything was strange, he could always tell the sect leader.

"Ugh. A sect which even beggars wouldn't come too!"

Chun Myung kicked a stone.

"What the hell did you all do with all the vitality pills left behind!"

He could guess from the look on the sect leader's face. It was clear that there were no pills left in Mount Hua.

It was hopeless.

If they couldn't make the pills because they didn't have money then, now that they had money, the only answer is...

'I would need to wait for now.'

Right. However, Hyun Jong chose to change the subject and gave permission to leave the sect instead of talking about the pills.

"Not a single thing is right here!"

His stomach hurt.

Even if someone deliberately planned to destroy Mount Hua, they wouldn't pick such a variety of ways.

No martial arts, no pills, no people, no money!

"Not a thing goes well. Just my luck!"

He was upset, but what could he do? It was all his karma. Chung Myung licked his lips and patted his stomach.

'Ha, what a pain in the ass.'

His body didn't recover as easily as he hoped. He thought it would be fine dealing with the side effects, but using his internal qi in a child's body whose musculature wasn't complete injured him more than expected.

'The problem is that it's not enough.'

His body wasn't recovering. Perhaps, it was because he kept expecting his childish body to function at the level of his previous body.

That's it.

In his past life, if Chung Myung had heard that a child had tapped into their internal qi, he would have lifted the child and spanked him on the ass.

That was how dangerous it was.

But that was how humans are. Others shouldn't do it, but they themselves could.

The problem he was facing was that the one disgruntled and suffering was none other than himself. Since his body was not recovering, his training slowed, and since his training slowed, his martial arts were lacking.

And he was too severely concentrating on re-building Mount Hua. If things kept going like this, it would take another half-year to recover, at least.

"I might die within half a year!"

He could have handled it in an older man's body. But in such a young body, it was too fatal. Half a year in a young body was like a decade for him.

It wasn't just about recovering and feeling comfortable. Now, Chung Myung was trying to build a perfect foundation. Wasn't he still in a human body?

Children grow and change. There is an ideal time for growth; the opportunity is lost if the timing is missed. It's necessary to build the basics and lay the groundwork for your future achievements when learning martial arts.

"I need to find a way."

Chung Myung had a severe face.

"I need to find a vitality pill...."

A weakened qi can be healed. If it can't be resolved with daily cultivation, he would have to find another source to repair it.

So, there are two ways.

Either receive pure qi from someone else or eat a precious vitality pill.

However, there was no way Chung Myung could find someone who would transfer qi to him, and there was currently no way he could get his hands on a vitality pill.

It wasn't something that money could buy. Besides, wasn't Chung Myung a child? It was impossible for anyone in Hua-Um to give him a pill.

No other way.

"Ah, really! You don't even have dog shit for medicine! What kind of sect doesn't have a pill! You rotten bastards!"

In the past, vitality pills were rolling on the floor of Mount Hua. It was natural to eat one pill.

And the Plum Blossom Pill?

"That wasn't even medicine."

The Plum Blossom Pills were so common that they weren't treated as pills. If Chung Myung were a little stronger, he wouldn't even bother looking for a Plum Blossom Pill.

It could be helpful for him now, but they were just useless herbs that didn't even increase his

stamina in the past.

Chung Myung used to use them to recover from hangovers.

'They had pretty great results.'

When you secretly drink alcohol, and the hangover doesn't leave the body, eat a bunch of Plum Blossom Pills! Although it had no value in training and martial arts, it was the best thing for a hangover.

Of course, if Sahyung knew of his thoughts, he would have hit Chung Myung.

'So, he hid the Plum Blossom Pi—'

"Uh?"

Chung Myung's body, which had been walking, came to a standstill.

"Hangover relief?"

He turned his head.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

Right! The pills!

No! no!

Right! They must be there!

Mount Hua's troublemaker...no, Mount Hua's former troublemaker, Chung Myung's secret vitality pill!

"Sometimes a rotten mind is needed!"

Chung Myung giggled at his past self and started running towards a cliff in the distance with all his might.